Fading Pictures
by xX51CherryBlossom15Xx
Summary: When Sakura starts seeing Sasuke who's been dead for years she starts to worry. So she does some investigating which will shock and change her life in so many ways. And the one person who's on her side is the person who she least expects. Review Please :


_People were shouting with joy as crowds formed near the gates of Konoha_; _two forms could be seen staggering forwards through the mass of people. One of them was Naruto Uzamaki , he had a grin the size of the Hokage monuments that were watching over as the scene unfolded. His hair was shaggy due to being gone on a mission for months and his clothing was in tatters; the sleeves which normally ended by his wrist were ripped of their material and was now up to his elbow, which was poking the other forms side. The other form frowned but smirked slightly shaking his head at the blonde, 'Dobe.' Naruto had finally fulfilled his promise to Sakura; Sasuke Uchiha had returned home after an extensive battle between him and Orochimaru with the help of Naruto. Sakura was crouched in a tree looking above the crowd at the two men struggling through throng of people. She smiled and jumped down immediately and ran through the bodies until she found herself before her two friends. She looked from Naruto to Sasuke and back to Naruto again and her small smile broke into a massive grin that rivalled Naruto's as she leaped towards them in a warm embrace._

Emerald eyes opened staring at the ceiling for a few seconds and then moved to the side to glance around the dim room and focused on a small picture frame that rested on a mahogany dresser. A lone tear escaped down the side of her cheek and she brought a hand up to prevent it from falling any further.

Sakura had been having these dreams nearly every night since Sasuke had died. Naruto had found him; his fight against Orochimaru had not ended well. He had managed to take over Sasuke's body, however his body was in pretty bad shape after the fight making it unusable and Naruto had defeated him but in the end he had come back broken-hearted. She grimaced, thinking back to when he confessed to her that he had failed. He'd got down on his knees and they had cried together for what seemed hours.

Sakura sighed pushing her pink fringe out of her eyes and swung her legs round so she was sitting up. Clenching her hands tightly on the edge of the bed, she stood and walked towards the window which looked upon the gates of Konoha.

She closed her eyes trying to forget about the dream and proceeded to get dressed in her nurse's uniform which she hated wearing, the fabric was a bit itchy. Quickly combing through her short pink tresses she noticed that it was only 6am, to which she sighed again.

"Oh well, I'm sure there's something for me to do at the hospital." 

It had been 11 hours since she had woken up and Sakura was finally ready to call it a day, she just had one more round to complete and then she could go home and have a relaxing bath. As she was walking down the corridor, something caught her eye. When she turned she gasped, seeing Sasuke walking towards her. Her heart was beating erratically and she could do nothing but stand there.

There was a loud bang behind her which caught her off guard, she swung her head round and there was a nurse on her knees picking up the trays that had fallen off of the trolly she had been pushing. Suddenly remembering what she had been looking at, Sakura whipped around so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.

Sasuke was gone. _Where did he go? _She frowned, she was now freaked out. 

Winter was starting to set in now the days were getting darker, it was only 6pm and she had difficulty seeing at times. Sakura was walking back to her apartment; she couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen. Had she really seen Sasuke? It really baffled her, he was dead right? Orochimaru was taken care of by Naruto, so how could she have seen him. _I'm going insane._

She was rounding the corner when she realised she was near the Uchiha compound, she'd taken the long way back home so she could think. Stopping, she looked up at the rusty old gates; she could see that the compound was engulfed in a black abyss.

She knew she should go straight home but her curiosity got the best of her. She extended her arm out and grasped the iron bar, feeling the rough texture from the lack of care, and pulled. As it opened it gave a high pitch squeak that made her shiver. As she stepped in and looked back over her shoulder, she hoped no one heard her going in.

Walking down a pathway, the only noise to be heard was the echoing of her tiny footsteps. She used a jutsu to create a blue-glowing ball of light that hovered in front of her as she moved forward. She stumbled upon what she recognised as Sasuke's house that he had lived in before he had left. She'd seen it a few times when Naruto had dragged her along to get Sasuke so they could go to Ichiraku. She smiled at that memory, it wasn't as if she didn't go with Naruto anymore, she just missed being a team… being complete. She shook her head.

The house was big, and looked as if it had been a sweet and happy home, but now it just looked hollow. Sakura hesitantly walked up the little path that was overgrown with weeds and grass, and stopped outside the door. _Should I really be doing this? _ She bit her lip. "What the hell." With that she pushed the door with a bit of force because it was stiff and she stepped inside.

Dust and cobwebs covered the walls and the few bits of furniture that were left in the house. She sneezed and glared at the dust, but carried on down the hall. She found the stairs that lead up to Sasuke's room and slowly went up. When she was in his room she noticed a picture frame on the side, but it was faced down. She picked it up carefully and looked at it realising it was their team 7 photo that they had taken together; she gave a sad laugh at seeing Sasuke's brooding face as Kakshi-Sensei ruffled his hair.

_Creak_

She accidently dropped the frame and spun around with wide eyes. She started to think it was a bad idea coming here. She stealthily stepped towards Sasuke's bedroom door with kunai in hand and peered round the door frame to find nothing but darkness.

After checking each room upstairs she made a move to go back down. When she got there she heard another sound. She masked her chakra this time and tip-toed to the back of the house where the noise came from. There was a little door near the kitchen and when she opened it she discovered a new set off stairs. She could see some sort of flickering light, though it must have been from a candle as she could still barely see the stairs.

She walked down the rickety old staircase. With each step it creaked and her heart sped up.

"Sa-sasuke?" There was no reply, "I know I must be crazy but I saw you and I…" Her breathe caught in her throat. Standing there in the dimly lit room was a man dressed in black with piercing red eyes.

"Itachi?"


End file.
